Compliance
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Heading off gas risk from damaged chimneys
Wear can cause poisonous carbon monoxide and mold-causing water to enter buildings, chimney specialists say.
By Joe Burns • Sept. 16, 2026 -
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Stakeholders square off over proposed DOE appliance program changes
Manufacturers say the changes would create a more predictable process to set appliance standards but should not “apply retroactively to standards already finalized.” Efficiency advocates say potential energy savings will be lost.
By Robert Walton • Sept. 1, 2026 -
Courtesy of Microsoft
Noise lawsuit is latest in legal wave hitting data center operations
A low-level hum coming from a Microsoft data center that’s hard to measure is a nuisance that’s hurting property values, Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, residents allege.
By Robert Freedman • Aug. 31, 2026 -
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California BPS proposal focuses on owner flexibility, tenant protections
The state’s building performance standard draft strategy recommends alternative compliance pathways while deferring to local governments with stronger standards.
By Joe Burns • Aug. 26, 2026 -
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Healthcare facility code updates reflect evidence-based findings: life safety expert
For example, fire alarms with low-frequency tones — around 520 hZ — are more effective at rousing people who are intoxicated, under sedation or have hearing loss, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
By Brian Martucci • Aug. 14, 2026 -
Courtesy of Hanwha Vision
Managers tighten surveillance infrastructure as cannabis industry matures
Companies are finding it easier to navigate the patchwork of state security requirements through a “single pane of glass," says Kevin Brown of Hanwha Vision.
By Robert Freedman • Aug. 13, 2026 -
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Senate bill would make it harder to impose appliance efficiency standards
The Energy Efficiency Reform Act would codify a 2 quadrillion Btu standard for efficiency requirements that the U.S. Department of Energy has proposed and nix a Biden-era ban on non-condensing gas water heaters, among other things.
By Robert Freedman • Aug. 10, 2026 -
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Almost 90% of data center building management systems communicate over insecure protocols: Claroty
Forty percent of critical power distribution infrastructure and 30% of HVAC systems are a single link away from risky connections, an analysis of 750,000 data center assets found.
By Joe Burns • July 29, 2026 -
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Behind the New York data center pause is legislation that could impact existing facilities
Legislation that’s been put on the back burner while the moratorium is in effect would require large data centers to procure at least a third of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and might impact those with water-intensive cooling, analyses show.
By Joe Burns • July 27, 2026 -
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JLL adds AI to healthcare facility compliance platform
The AI tool extracts data fields from, and flags discrepancies between, the inspection records that facilities need to meet accreditation standards, the company says.
By Joe Burns • July 24, 2026 -
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As K-12 schools embrace ed tech, importance of building system security increases, expert says
Cyber criminals can use building technology to breach school district networks, so facility managers must be part of the security effort, the Consortium of School Networking says.
By Joe Burns • July 20, 2026 -
Joe Burns/Facilities Dive
Optimizing building operations against a changing environment: ASHRAE 2026 conference
The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' 2026 annual conference focused on operational resilience during challenging times.
By Joe Burns • July 16, 2026 -
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Kennedy Center repairs were rushed, shoddy, whistleblowers allege
Work on its exterior columns and reflecting pool will need to be redone because of shortcuts contractors took to create cosmetic improvements in time for events featuring President Trump, according to the allegations.
By Robert Freedman • July 14, 2026 -
The image by Tdorante10 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
New York City to expand businesses subject to organic waste requirements
A provision set to become law authorizes the city to require venues, retail and food service businesses, among others, to divert food scraps from disposal.
By Jacob Wallace • July 10, 2026 -
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DOE wants to ‘permanently end’ appliance efficiency requirements
A proposed rule would create an “obstacle course of restrictions” bogging down the Department of Energy’s appliance efficiency program, a consumer advocate said.
By Robert Walton • Updated July 2, 2026 -
New York gas appliance ban upheld
The state has said it won’t enforce the ban until appeals are complete. That creates a window for the Supreme Court to weigh in if it’s asked to close a split between this ruling and one in California shutting down a similar ban.
By Robert Freedman • July 2, 2026 -
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ASHRAE to tackle data centers, thermal systems at annual conference
The engineering society’s annual meeting, starting this weekend in Austin, Texas, will have programs on managing energy costs and integrating energy storage projects, among others.
By Joe Burns • June 26, 2026 -
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Allowing guns in stores is the default, Supreme Court says
In shooting down a Hawaii law, the top court puts the onus on owners of public-facing private property to say guns are prohibited if they want to keep their property gun-free.
By Robert Freedman • June 26, 2026 -
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DOJ intervenes on behalf of xAI in data center gas turbine lawsuit
The Department of Defense said the xAI data center powered by the gas plant is critical to national security, revealing Grok was used to fire thousands of missiles in the Iran war.
By Diana DiGangi • June 22, 2026 -
Retrieved from United States District Court Northern District of Illinois.
Major commercial real estate brokers, CoStar hit with antitrust lawsuit
CBRE, JLL, Cushman & Wakefield, Colliers and Newmark were all named as alleged conspirators in a price-fixing scheme via CoStar’s sharing real-time, confidential, property-level lease transaction data.
By Joe Burns • June 18, 2026 -
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Companies are struggling to integrate climate resilience enterprise-wide
While they increasingly are aware of physical climate risk, companies find it difficult to turn that recognition into climate resilience, according to a new paper.
By Lamar Johnson • June 18, 2026 -
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Demand-response programs can lower utility bills, but beware of on-site power restrictions, experts say
Virginia passed a law encouraging utilities to offer big power users the opportunity to participate in load-shedding programs, but for facilities, signing up is not an easy decision.
By Robert Freedman • Updated June 15, 2026 -
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Non-condensing furnace, water heater ban goes back to appeals court. What’s next?
The top court agreed with the Trump administration that Biden-era rules effectively eliminating non-condensing gas furnaces and water heaters from the market are based on an incomplete legal review.
By Robert Freedman • June 9, 2026 -
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Vulnerabilities discovered in Trane, Vertiv data center products
The companies are addressing the risks with updates, according to Team82 of cybersecurity company Claroty, which found and shared the vulnerabilities with the companies.
By Joe Burns • Updated June 10, 2026 -
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Maine becomes first state to enact EPR waste collection for vapes, with impact on retail facilities
As part of increased collection, recycling and disposal options for vape pens, retail facilities that sell vapes will need to partcipate as collection locations.
By Megan Quinn • June 3, 2026
